A/N: I slipped in a random reference in this chapter just because it wouldn't be me if I didn't. See if you can spot it! Otherwise, enjoy this chapter! I hope you guys are enjoying the story.
~Chapter 9~
A couple days pass by without anything out of the ordinary. Nicholas quickly forms a routine for his days. Xander is a very predictable person. Nearly all the same things are done every day and Nicholas does them gladly, even if Xander doesn't pay that much attention to him. But just as Nicholas gets fully settled into the routine, a very interesting task comes up.
The morning starts out like any other: get up early, eat a small breakfast, cook Xander's breakfast, and set out the day's clothes and the food just before he wakes up. Nicholas waits at the ready while Xander finishes his meal. After he finishes, Xander stands up and says, "Nicholas, I have something a bit larger for you to work on this week. An important meeting is going to be held in the west hall at the end of this week and, seeing as the hall hasn't been used in a while, I would like you to spruce it up a bit and make it look a bit more presentable. It doesn't need too much, just work on it whenever you can in between your daily duties. Oh, and during the meeting, I was hoping a meal could be served. Do you think you can handle that?"
"I most certainly can milord. Please, may you inform me of where the hall is so that I may see its current state for myself?" Nicholas asks.
"Oh, certainly. If you go out the hallway and around the perimeter of the entrance room, go through the last door to a different hallway. About in the middle of that hallway are double doors. The meeting hall is through there," Xander explains.
"Thank you very much, milord. I shall be off then if you don't mind," Nicholas states.
"Not at all. Good day, Nicholas." Xander says. Nicholas bows and exits to find the meeting hall.
As he follows the directions from Xander, he ponders to himself. "This should be fun. My first special job. Doesn't sound like it will be too hard. Just some freshening up of the room, maybe a few personal additions. I don't think Xander would mind that. Yes, not too hard at all." Just after finished that thought, Nicholas pushes open the double doors.
A cringe seeps into his features and he whispers out loud. "Oh my goodness. What to do about this…"
The room is much barer than Nicholas could have possibly imagined. The only thing present in the room is a long table with tall wooden chairs all around it. Tall windows line the upper half of one of the walls, but nothing adorns them either.
Nicholas's flair for interior decorating kicks into overdrive. "What to do first…" he wonders aloud as the approaches the table. He drags a finger across the corner and examines his finger. "I'll have to dust, first of all," he comments and then looks up at the windows. "I'll have to clean out the cobwebs too…"
Nicholas keeps walking around the room as he makes a list of everything he plans to do.
"Let's see here. First of all, I'll have to make some seat cushions. Can't have them sitting on bare wood: their bottoms will be sore before dessert. Definitely a tablecloth too. That probably doesn't need to be too fancy, though. Some table decorations will be needed. Perhaps a centerpiece too. Or would that be too much? Hmm, I'll have to experiment. And curtains, there must be curtains. I think I'll embroider the Nohrian crest on them; that would look very nice." Nicholas visualizes everything in his head. "Hmm, it still looks empty. Perhaps I could find some pedestals to put in the corners. Oh! And what if I put purple roses on them? That would look marvelous. Exquisite, but fierce at the same time." He stands back and visualizes everything one last time. "Perfect. Time to get started."
Nicholas walks quickly back down into the staff's quarters and straight to the sewing room. On his way, he passes Teresa coming out of the kitchen briefly.
"Ah, Nicholas! How are you this morning?" she asks.
"Wonderful, but I am very busy. Sorry I can't stay and talk. Enjoy your day!" he calls while still walking to the sewing room.
"Very busy indeed…" Teresa mumbles. She shakes her head and wanders back into the kitchen.
"First things first. I have got to dust that room," Nicholas thinks to himself. He finds a whisk and a broom and pan. He takes them both upstairs and dusts the table, all the chairs, and the entire floor in no time. Then he sets about making the seat cushions.
First Nicholas grabs a tape measure, runs back up to the room and measures the seat of the wooden chairs. Then he rushes back down and sets to work.
Quickly and efficiently Nicholas finds what he needs. He gets a bunch of purple felt from the fabric cabinet and sets that down at an open station. Then he finds a roll of gold colored trim and brings that with him. Finally, he finds a few medium sized black buttons. Then with the focus of a magnifying glass, he sets to work making the seat cushions.
While Nicholas works furiously, Abel walks up to him intending to ask him a question, but after taking one look at him and recognizing his focus, he finds it wiser to go ask someone else.
In only an hour, Nicholas finishes the seat cushions. He stands up and steps back to admire his work. The cushions are fashioned from two pieces of custom cut purple felt outlined with the gold trim. Two black buttons are placed in the middle for visual appeal. Nicholas smiles, happy with his work. He stacks all nine of the cushions and carries them upstairs.
As he is walking through the hallway, Elise happens to wander out the door just in time to see Nicholas open the door to the foyer and head off. Confused, she knocks on Xander's door.
"Come in," Xander says. Elise wanders in.
"Hey, Xander! Whatcha doing?" he asks cheerfully.
"Oh, it's you, Elise. Good to see you. I was reviewing some military plans. What do you need?" Xander asks.
"Well, I was heading out of my room to take a stroll in the countryside, and I managed to see Nicholas walking out into the hallway with what seemed to be a large stack of seat cushions in his arm. It seemed kind of weird. I was just wondering, what is Nicholas doing?"
Xander furrows his brow. "Seat cushions? He's supposed to be fixing up the west meeting hall for the military meeting at the end of this week. Apparently, he decided seat cushions were needed. I wouldn't worry too much about it."
Elise frowns. "He seemed in a hurry."
"He's probably just trying to get it done quickly so he can be prepared," Xander assures.
"Alright, if you say so. See ya, big brother!" Elise sings as she skips out the door. Xander smiles at her energy. What she said lingers on his mind, though. He keeps wondering what Nicholas is up to.
Somewhat of an answer comes only a few hours later. While sitting at his desk, he hears the door to the staff's quarters swing shut. Quickly walking to his door, Xander opens it quietly and peers outside to see Nicholas walking down the hallway again, this time with a bunch of curtains. Xander finds it so odd that for a moment, he feels tempted to call out and ask Nicholas what he's doing, but decides against it and simply leaves Nicholas to do what he sees fit. Now hearing about seat cushions and seeing curtains makes him curious about what the meeting hall will look like when Nicholas is done with it.
Meanwhile, Nicholas heads back to the meeting hall with the curtains he just cut, embroidered, and embellished. Only when he returns to the hall does he remember that the windows are much too high for him to hand them all on his own. Unfortunately, he also doesn't know where a ladder is either. He carefully sets the curtains down on the table and goes back to Xander's room. He knocks and Xander calls him in.
Nicholas bows. "Good day, milord. I was wondering if I might ask you where something is located," he explains.
"What is it that you are trying to find?" Xander asks.
"A ladder, milord. I am unfamiliar where one is kept. I need it for...the meeting hall. Well not to put in the meeting hall but…" Nicholas starts to explain but Xander raises his hand and Nicholas stops talking.
"I won't question your request. There is a storage closet further down the hallway with the meeting hall that has one. We don't use ladders very often so that's why it is kept there. I believe it should be tall enough," Xander answers.
"Thank you very much, milord. Is there anything else you require of me or may I continue working on the meeting hall?"
"No, I think I will allow you to continue working," Xander offers. "Do not keep me waiting for dinner," he adds.
"I will be up soon with your meal, rest assured," Nicholas confirms. Xander smiles politely and dismisses him.
It doesn't take long for Nicholas to locate the old wooden ladder, but just slightly longer for him to drag it down the small section of the hall and line it up in front of the first window. One by one he takes one of the curtains, climbs up the ladder with it, and tacks them with sturdy pins in place so that they hang neatly on the sides of the windows but still let plenty of light through. After finishing that, Nicholas wipes his brow and sighs. "I think that's enough for today," he says to himself. Then he drags the ladder back to the closet and goes down to the kitchen to cook dinner.
"How is the meeting hall coming along?" Xander asks in the middle of dinner.
"It is coming along quite nicely, milord, but it still needs a significant amount of work. Rest assured, I will not neglect anything else in favor of it, though," Nicholas answers.
"Was the ladder particularly difficult to use?" Xander pries.
"No, not at all. It was of sufficient height and got the job done. It was quite heavy to drag through," Nicholas recalls.
"You certainly do have a passion for work," Xander comments. "Don't overwork yourself."
"I'm afraid that is quite impossible for me," Nicholas assures smiling.
Xander lets out a small laugh. "Yes, it would appear so. There's still three more days till the meeting through and I don't think there is much to do. Pace yourself at least."
"I am doing just that, milord," Nicholas assures again. Xander eyes him for a moment.
"Alright then. You are free to go home now. Get some sleep," he commands.
"Thank you, milord," Nicholas says. He bows and politely exits the room. He is quite tired from the work he put into decorating the hall today and when his head hits his pillow, Nicholas promptly falls asleep.